Fredericksburg, Va.—Virginia Organizing State Governing Board member and returning citizen Duane Edwards responded to President Barack Obama’s announcement to delay asking questions about criminal history until later in the hiring process among other rehabilitation and reintegration initiatives:

“Virginia Organizing is grateful that President Obama is taking deliberate steps at the federal level to make the reentry process more effective for returning citizens. Virginia has made great strides in criminal justice reform in just the last year—16 localities and the state of Virginia have banned the criminal history box from public job employment applications. It is super exciting to see this moving forward at the federal level.

“Virginia Organizing also hopes that more Virginia local governments will ‘ban the box’ on job applications to support returning citizens in the reentry process.”

To interview a spokesperson for Virginia Organizing, please contact Amanda Pohl at 804-337-1912 oramanda@virginia-organizing.org.

Virginia Organizing is a non-partisan statewide grassroots organization that brings people together to create a more just Virginia. 

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